ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: In dementia, behavioral psychological symptoms are frequent and variable. OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of wrist actigraphy as a measure of disorder in motor behavior especially apathy, aberrant motor behavior, agitation and anxiety. METHODS: Cross sectional observational study of consecutive patients older than 75 years admitted to an intermediate care unit of a geriatric hospital ward during a two-year period. Psycho behavioral symptoms and cognitive status were assessed using the NPI scale and MMSE and diagnosis of dementia was done using DSMIV criteria. A wrist actigraph was worn for 10 days to record motor activity, sleep time and number of periods of sleep. RESULTS: 183 patients were included. Among patients with dementia, a significant decrease in motor activity was recorded in those with apathy from 9h to 12h and 18h to 21h (p <0.05) and in those with anxiety from 21h to 24h (p <0.05). Aberrant motor behavior in dementia was associated with a significant increase in motor activity from 21h to 24h (p <0.01). Agitation was not associated with a significant differences in motor activity. CONCLUSIONS: Wrist actigraphy can be used to record motor activity in elderly patients with dementia especially in those with apathy and aberrant motor behavior.